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Wilke's Frankenpede *Help wanted!*

Hello, my name is Greg Wilke and I need your help.

I am building a Stampede but not like most builds. Instead of new and upgraded parts I am going to use only broken and damaged and ugly parts. Hence Frankenpede. I have made only 1 rule for my build, no new parts. How can you help? 2 ways.

1. I would like ideas, suggestions, input, and tips to help make this the ugliest "I can't believe this thing runs"-Pede.

2. I need broken parts. I can only break so many with my daily and abusive bashing See my marketplace post for more info please.

Day 1. Only aftermarket part is an RPM bumper, and willl be THE ONLY aftermarket part on there aside from a wheelie bar (for obvious reasons)

A week or so later...broken front turnbuckle, front chassis brace, and servo case

Did some body work with drywall tape and shoe goo. But the body is still way too pretty still..

Almost 2 months later (and I'm not easy on my truck) And still looks way too good. Other than a bent caster block and servo saver, no new noticable damage.

Some zip ties, glue, and velcro and a few adjustments later and still 100% functional, but NOWHERE NEAR done. I want this thing to be ugly. I want to sew together a body from 4 or 5 broken bodies. I want mismatched colored parts. I want bent and broken arms, towers, links etc etc. And I want the truck to run like day 1. So far so good Please help!!!! Thank you,

Good project man!! I'd like to see 4 different tires. Talking way ugly ones that are worn out, maybe some rips. I checked your thread in the MP. I'll have to see what I got. I know I kept some of the parts for a little while.

I Would take it apart and start spray painting each part a different color. Maybe not every part, but maybe the arms and springs, possibly the bumper. I would even staple body pieces over the top of another body instead of sewing multiple bodies together because I think it would be difficult to get a needle through the lexan. The pssibilities are endless. I'd love to Be there with you to help with this creation. Can't wait to see it.

I like the idea of different colors. The uglier the better! And I should stop washing the car too after runs (minus electrics/motor/tranny). For the sewing part I was thinking of using a few bodies and cutting the pieces out for fit. Then to sew them drill small holes first, sew together with twine, and secure the inside of the shell using drywall tape and shoegoo (works amazingly).

Today's Update. After some PM exchanges with several forum members I should have some broken/damaged/ugly parts coming my way. This includes a body, chassis, a-arms, various wheels+tires, towers. Thanks for the responses so far everyone! I took the pede down to a fav bashing spot today but didn't break anything new Tough cookie
Given what I should be getting soon there are a few things I am still going to need/want for the build..

Bodies, the more beat up the better! Older or newer styles welcome
Tie rods
links
Rear arms
Wheels + Tires. Either sets, singles, even individual tires and wheels. I only want the vehicle to be level on a flat surface to maintain as close to factory performance as possible. I would prefer to have 4 different rims and wheels around it to make it uglier.

Yeah, Frank's a pretty cool dude. I can see some thin strips of sheet metal used to fix some broken a arms as we get into the cold season. And I d be happy to donate some of my lid pieces when the time comes.

That's part of what I'm planning, I've got a few bodies on the way that volunteered themselves to be cut up. I was planning on using twine to create the stitches after drilling small holes for the cord to go through, then reinforce the inside with drywall tape and shoegoo. Not only will it be ugly, it will be way more durable than stock

btw Don, your build is looking amazing! I would hate to see the receipts you've accumulated so far haha

this is going to be a sweet project when its done! i'm going to have to look around for some broken parts!
also, doesn't it seem that when you are trying really hard to break it, it just wont break, and that when you are trying really hard to NOT break it, it breaks all the time? lol

this is going to be a sweet project when its done! i'm going to have to look around for some broken parts!
also, doesn't it seem that when you are trying really hard to break it, it just wont break, and that when you are trying really hard to NOT break it, it breaks all the time? lol

Thanks! And yeah I should stop "trying" to break parts, then they will!

Got all the parts in I need
Done with dis-assembly. Gotta clean up some parts to prep for dyeing (gray chassis parts) and paint. Rit Scarlet red dye on standby as well as some Krylon for non-dyeable parts.

Going to pick 2 of these bodies to use. Already have the materials ready to cut and splice them into one, ugly body. I was thinking about using RED led's for headlights to make it look a little more menacing when done. What do you think?

Red LED's will give it an awesome SINIST3R look. I'm not sure if you've ever checked but go to youtube and look up djmedica nd im sure many others. The scaler guys know how to make a body look like its banged up and put through the ringer. Not sure if you can melt the plastic with paint or graphics like that. But I know you can take clear bodies and make them look like they've been through an accident and stuff. Just ideas.

Totally sweet project you have going on for sure. Keep up the good work. I'm watching this puppy.

Yeah some seriously good work out there, but something to try to achieve! The advantage they have is that they are using injection molded bodies versus Lexan, which can withstand the heat and such. But I will do my best to duplicate some of those techniques on my lexan body, and if I mess up, I have spares I'll have some updated pics up this weekend after dyeing parts and starting on the body hacking...getting excited

Update 11/17
Cleaned up all the parts for dye and paint, will be dyeing parts tomorrow when the chassis is done curing from some needed JB weld repair.
Started "messing" up the body prepping for surgery hehe. I used a bic lighter to create the dent effects on the body and along the edges, worked out pretty well I think. Still going to cut some pieces and "sew" them back on with some ugly twine. Also got some hobby paint to create rust effects (never tried it before). AND I have a few other ideas for the body which will be loosely guarded secrets.

Here what I've done tonight to the body. Oh, and "Frank" needed his name on the truck

Ideas, tips and suggestions welcome. Thanks!
will have more updates tomorrow after the dye is done, I'm excited to see how the color comes out!

Are you planning on making this a sleeper? You know, a normal (or beat up in this case ) car with a EXTRMELY powerful motor so it really fast, or is it just going to be a "Frankin" P2de? If your not going to make it a sleeper, you should think about it. That would be really cool! Cheers!

Currently normal, however I wouldn't rule out a brushless upgrade. And define "Extremely powerful"? The only issue with the sleeper idea (which is great btw), is that I'm using broken and damaged parts for the ENTIRE truck. So while it will run fine when done, I'm not sure what it would do slamming into a curb at 65mph as opposed to 25mph.

Couldn't fit the whole chassis in Stock pot without it sitting on the bottom so I half and half'ed it

Rit Scarlet Dye (powder)

Painted Shock springs with Krylon Fusion "Hammered" spray paint

Same with A-arms

Tomorrow I begin some re-assembly as well as more body work. The body so far is the biggest project with the build.
I'm not so sold on the A-arms, they look too "goldish" in color for me. We'll see tomorrow when I start the rebuild....

I have been watching this thread to see what you come up with.....interesting idea and the body looks great so far...
Having a curb jump-out-and-hit-ya at those speeds would brake new parts! LOL!! A 'sleeper' when racing/bashing w/friends is a good idea....or so I think. Blow their doors off! lol Just have to disguise the brushless setup...just a thought.

Thanks! Again my only issue with brushless on this build is it's going to be FRAGILE. Since virtually every part is broken/bent or damaged this thing would implode hitting a pillow. However since I typed that It would be cool to see on video....

The front A-arms and a shock tower are ones I got from you. I would put those wheels on but the diameter is different, I would need the same size up front to have it even. And I think duct tape wouldn't be out of the question

I'd take the a-arms back off and scrape them across the cement a few times on each side. I would also switch out the camber links to the vxl ones. If I remember correctly I think it was Diggerpede that said he accidentally dyed his screws and they rusted within days. Maybe the same would work on the turnbuckles and camber links??? I'm sure there are other ways to speed up the rusting process. Lol. Looking good.. Umm, I mean looking bad. Good job at looking bad?? You know what I mean!! Keep up the good/bad work.

If you take out all the screws and metal parts, run them over with sandpaper and then let them sit in water overnight, then let them air dry they should be nice and rusty.
I think it would look really good if you painted the servo multiple different colors.
You can quickly get the body beat up by putting it on the pavement and stomping on it. it will get all cracked up, and then you can patch her up.

EDIT: Hey just thought of another great idea!!! Paint the rims 4 different colors and then put awesome on the paint after its dry. Scrub it with a tooth brush and it will look great. You can do the same with other parts!

If you take out all the screws and metal parts, run them over with sandpaper and then let them sit in water overnight, then let them air dry they should be nice and rusty.
I think it would look really good if you painted the servo multiple different colors.
You can quickly get the body beat up by putting it on the pavement and stomping on it. it will get all cracked up, and then you can patch her up.

EDIT: Hey just thought of another great idea!!! Paint the rims 4 different colors and then put awesome on the paint after its dry. Scrub it with a tooth brush and it will look great. You can do the same with other parts!

I can paint them to look rusty without affecting their ability to unscrew when needed And what's awesome to put on the paint?

I can paint them to look rusty without affecting their ability to unscrew when needed And what's awesome to put on the paint?

Haha no I mean "awesome", the cleaning solution you can get at the dollar store. If you let it sit on the paint for awhile and then scrub it with a brush it will flake and make it look old and beat up.

"La's totally awesome cleaner" from the dollar store works GREAT on cleaning parts!!!! And it isn't corrosive at all so you can get it on any metal without having to worry. Check it out. I've found it works just as good as simple green on almost all applications.